Just a few months after some Hawaiian residents had a chance to catch TOKYO at the Hawaii International Film Festival, Liberation Entertainment brings TOKYO! to a city near… or at least nearer you this March. Below the break for more info~~
[iframe width=”560″ height=”349″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/z1qzGPOXjQk”]
*hoot hoot* sorry for the little delay~~~ But here we go!
As always, a little about the film:
This 2005 film stars Yuya Yagira (Tetsumu), of Dare mo Shiranai (Nobody Knows) fame – a role that earned him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival – as a young man who wants to become the first Japanese elephant trainer.
Genre: Drama
Starring: Yuya Yagira, Takako Tokiwa, Yu Aoi
Based on the novel by: Sayuri Sakamoto
Duration: +1:30hr
Spoilers ahead, and I mean it this time.
So it’s been almost a month since the last Film Discussion because I thought it’d be good to keep Hula Girls up while it was playing on TVs in Latin America. So expect more reviews more often this time around… unless they show other Yu Aoi films on cable, of course. And Happy New Year!!
So this Kame movie, or Turtles Swim Faster than Expected, comes after Hana & Alice according to various filmographies…
What’s the movie about?
(from AsianMediaWiki)
Film starring Juri Ueno as Suzume Katagura an ordinary housewife (despite how only being 23), whose husband goes overseas on business leaving behind his pet turtle at her care. She lives her days monotonously, wondering if she will ever be noticed, until the day she spots a tricky ad sticker searching for spies.
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Juri Ueno, Yu Aoi, Ryo Iwamatsu, Eri Fuse
Duration: 1:30hr
There’s a 2-part at CrunchyRoll [Part1, Part2]
Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.
It’s been a LONG time since my last talk about films that marked my life, and after much thinking and procrastination I thought Karate Kid should be next. Why?
So simple! LOL’ I was a huge HUGE fan of Karate Kid, but the best part of the film for me wasn’t Daniel-san, even though I did the “Crane Kick” many times playing in the garden and in my room… no, the best part of Karate Kid was Mr. Miyagi.
This film discussion doesn’t come until after the Honey & Clover live action movie, but I thought it will be good to post this now since Cinemax Latin America is showing the film this December and January (and perhaps scattered February, check times here).
This was probably the third film I saw of Yu, I was most impressed with the fact that Asians could move their booties like that… call it my Latin American gene that told me that the Asian gene makes you unfit to dancing. xD
Here’s the 12-part video on YouTube. Or just wait for it on cable…
A little about the film:
(from Wikipedia)
It’s a 2006 Japanese-award-winning film based on true events of a small coal mining town facing the shut down of the mine, and looking at the loss of +2000 jobs. While all the grownups seemed to be fuzzing about the future of their coal-legacy, a young group of girls see a gleam of hope in the opening of The Hawaiian Center, and hula dancing.
Genre: Drama, Comedy and dancing!
Starring: Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yu Aoi, Eri Tokunaga, Shoko Ikezu & Shizuyo Yamazaki
Duration: 2hrs
Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.
I was gonna apologize for not getting the time to write a new review, luckily I found that this reviewed followed next. Yay! xD
Nanako to Nanao – Ane to Otouto ni Nareru Hi
I have no idea where to put this since it’s not a film, but it’s also not a series. Sure it is, for some reason, labeled as a TV show or series… but no. It’s a TV movie, people. What is the difference between a film/movie and a TV movie, you say? Well, first it’s medium… then it’s budget and resources. In the end, you can almost always tell the difference between one and the other.
What’s this TV movie about?
Well… let’s see~ It’s a 2004 NHK Made-for-TV-Film about a high school girl named Nanako (Yu Aoi), who is often labeled as weird and anti-social due to trust issues with people caused by the betrayal she feels her dad committed. Seven years after his death, Nanako is thrown into the unusual situation to cohabit with her half-brother, Nanao (Yuri Chinen).
Genre: Drama… kinda cute, but drama.
Starring: Yu Aoi, Yuri Chinen
Duration: 1:15hr
Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.
Sorry for the delay *hides behind a wall in shame*, but here it is~~ FINALLY!
First, here’s something about the film:
(from Eigapedia)
A 2001 film of a girl named Sachiko (Aoi Miyazaki) who befriends a street kid, and the things happening around her due to things she’s done and witnessed in her short past.
Genre: Drama
Starring: Aoi Miyazaki, Seiichi Tanabe, Tetsu Sawaki, Ryo Amamiya, Koji Ishikawa, Yu Aoi
Duration: 1:30hr
Things you might consider spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.
With Independent Spirit Award Nominations just around the corner (Dec. 2) – Awards season pretty much begins~
I haven’t seen many (if any) films to fuzz about… yet. Studios say they trust their films, and all are hoping for December releases. This wasn’t the case last year, when Julie Christie (April) and Marion Cotillard (June) released in the US their films and swept awards.
Pretty much everyone is hoping and fuzzing about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I am too – because let’s face it, it looks cool… it has a good cast, and a great director. From what I could read, this will be the movie to watch… it will be IT.
Nothing else can’t be said, on my behalf…
The animation category will undeniably go to WALL-E, which was good. However, wouldn’t it be interesting if there were other animated films? One of them could be the Israeli-German-French animated production of Waltz with Bashir. I have heard interesting things about it… but could it surprise Oscar watchers? Unlikely. But it will be a good change… just like I thought Les Tiplettes de Belleville should have won, or Persepolis last year~~
Waltz with Bashir, just from the trailer, looks visually interesting. Definitely different to other animated films in subject, theme, and possibly even different animation approach. I also think this poster on the right looks way more intriguing than the other colored poster. Nonetheless, from the same trailer you could see some funkyness with the animation, as if they had used Flash on some sequences (like some of those MTV crappy animated shorts)… and some others looked just splendid.
This is officially my 2nd Yu Aoi film, which I saw right after All About Lily Chou Chou. Considering this is the first time I get into Japanese entertainment like this, I had no knowledge about anything. This is the reason why (I think, I’m pretty sure about it) I thought both Yu Aoi characters in the films were two completely DIFFERENT actresses… until I went to vote on IMDb and noticed that her name was already visited. Same thing with Hayato Ichihara… two different people, I tell you!!!
I also watched Rainbow Song because I liked the simple poster. LOL! Little did I know that it had something to do with Juri Ueno, Yu Aoi, Hayato Ichihara… and that Shunji Iwai’s name was involved. Well, I actually thought I knew Juri’s name from the opening credits because I was watching Last Friends during those days… le sigh, oh how time flies!
Okay, let’s see… a little about the film according to Amy.
This 2006 film directed by Naoto Kumazawa had Shunji Iwai as producer and ghost-writer. It stars Hayato Ichihara as Tomoya, a young man working as staff in a television studio, who finds out his friend Aoi Sato (Juri Ueno) dies in an airplane crash.
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance… all mashed up together.
Starring: Hayato Ichihara, Juri Ueno, Yu Aoi
Duration: Almost 2hrs.
Here’s a link to Crunchy to watch it in 3 parts…
Spoilers ahead!
It’s time for a new “Films that Changed your Life Forever” post! If you check the link to my “Favorites,” you will notice that the film I’m about to talk to is the ONLY animated film that has made its way to my Top10. I am surprised myself, but here is my story…